By Steven Zeitchik

Ridley Scott is going back to the futurism.

The director who helmed “Blade Runner” will take on one of the most highly regarded dystopian works of literature, Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.”

The project has been set up at Universal, where Scott will produce the project with an eye to direct. His sometimes collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio, meanwhile, will produce with an eye to star.

The studio has brought on “Apocalypto” scribe Farhad Safinia to pen the script; he’s expected to begin working shortly.

Scott and DiCaprio will produce via their respective Scott Free and Appian Way banners, with Michael Costigan also producing for Scott Free and George DiCaprio producing at Appian. Peter Cramer is overseeing for Uni.

Scott has mentioned casually in interviews over the past year that he’s interested in the 1931 novel, which Appian Way owns, prompting a flurry of rumors on sci-fi and other blogs. But the studio details and DiCaprio’s personal involvement have been murky.

Now, with a writer on board and Scott Free and Appian execs meeting frequently during the past six months, the project has more momentum, though several people familiar with it emphasize that it remains at the development stage.

“It was a bitch.” That was the kicker on the clip of the 3 1/2-hour making-of documentary “Dangerous Days” (as spoken by “Blade Runner” star Harrison Ford) that Warner Bros. Home Video brought to Comic-Con. Sounds like making the boxed set comprising “Blade Runner: The Final Cut” could be described that way, too, as the DVD’s producer, Charles de Lauzirika,” said he went through 977 cans and boxes of film to bring this alternate version to fruition.
On the five discs will be five versions of the film, including the Internet fave “work print,” 47 minutes of deleted scenes and, of course, the “final” movie as envisioned by Scott. (The final cut is set for a limited theatrical release Oct. 5 in Los Angeles and New York.) De Lauzirika also pointed out that instead of using scenes from the original movie in “Dangerous Days,” clips rescued from the cutting-room floor will flesh it out.
Scott, pictured, was on hand to show a few teasers for the massive DVD undertaking. While he said he would never dream of using new FX technology to improve upon the original film, he didn’t necessarily disparage those who have done so (George Lucas was who the questioner referenced).
Also revealed: A soundtrack release is in the works, and Scott said he’s still pursuing the adaptation of another Philip K. Dick book, “The Man in the High Castle.” Asked if a “Blade Runner” sequel is in the works, Scott said no but that there’s clearly “a story in the sequel,” keyed by the Edward James Olmos line “Pity she won’t live.” To that, replicant Sean Young, sitting all the way at the other end of the table, exclaimed, “Great, that means I’m going to be in it!” (Karen Nicoletti)